Racer Cross Country Has Final Tune-Up Before OVC Championships

The Murray State cross country teams are back in action this weekend, traveling to Cookeville, Tennessee for the Golden Eagle Invitational, hosted by Tennessee Tech.

This will be the Racers final tune-up before the OVC Cross Country Championships on October 30^th in Nashville, Tennessee.

MEET INFO
The Golden Eagle Invitational starts at 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Putnam County Sports Complex with the women's 5k invitational event while the men's 8k invitational race starts at 3:45 p.m.

Meet Info

COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
Two Racers will be making their collegiate debuts for the women's cross country team, sophomore Amirr Evans and freshman Ruth Kimutai.

Evans competed for the Racers' track & field last spring as a mid-distance runner, finishing seventh in the 800m at the OVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Kimutai is a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya. Her sister Ida also competed for the Racers from 2015-19.

LAST TIME OUT
The Murray State men's and women's cross country team competed at the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by Mizzou, on Friday, Oct. 1 in Columbia, Missouri.

Senior Dani Wright jumped onto Murray State's All-Time Top Ten List (6k) with a mark of 22:09.6 to place fourth all time.

Wright completed the course in 22:09.6 to take 38^th on the individual leaderboard, a time that is fourth-best in Murray State history in the 6k.

Seniors Jessica Stein ran a 23:05.9, while Emma Creviston was finished just behind her, in 23:09.3. Freshmen Hope Ware and Ainsley Smith rounded out the Racers' top five with times of 23:25.2 and 24:17.5.

Sophomore Jorge Ruiz paced the way for the men with a time of 25:15.3. Follow classmate, Vicente Correia finished ten seconds behind at 25:25.2.

Seniors Caleb Kawasaki and Jordan Higgins crossed the finish line with times of 26:07.9 and 26:45.0. Sophomore Nathan Quinn rounded out the top five, who crossed the line in 27:08.6.

Even on a much more challenging course at Mizzou, a lot of the men came close to running their PR times.

QUOTABLES – From Distance Coach Jordan Johnston
On the women: "It's been five weeks since the women have raced a 5k, so I know they are all excited to have a shot at improving their time from the North Alabama invite in September. We have two athletes making their 2021 cross country debuts, sophomore Amirr Evans and freshman Ruth Kimutai so I am looking forward to their performances."

On the men: "This last meet before conference is a big one for the men. Two weeks ago we competed at Mizzou and found some things we can work on in regards to race day prep and mentality. That same weekend, most of our conference was at the Greater Louisville Classic which is a notoriously fast course and competitive meet. I commend our men for maintaining confidence and keeping their eyes set on our ambitious but still tangible team goals in spite of seeing some of the fast times our competitors have run. I think the Tennessee Tech meet is a great opportunity to face our conference teams again as well as some strong talent from ETSU and show everyone how hard we have been working."

UP NEXT
Murray State returns home to host the Racer Open at the Miller Memorial Golf Course on Oct. 15.

Racer Cross Country Has Final Tune-Up Before OVC Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Vicente Correia

Emma Creviston

Amirr Evans

Jordan Higgins

Caleb Kawasaki

Ruth Kimutai

Nathan Quinn

Jorge Ruiz

Ainsley Smith

Jessica Stein

Hope Ware

Dani Wright

Murray State University